A Bittersweet Return
by 28RainbowSnakes
Summary: Oveno and Thornatali have successfully saved the world from Primal Dialga. However, little did Oveno know that Thornatali would not be returning to Treasure Town with him. Now Oveno must return alone and face telling the guild and everyone they knew at Treasure Town that Thornatali is gone. (Oneshot based on the PMD Explorers ending, major spoilers!)


**A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back with my second story on this site. This one is a one-shot that is based on the ending of PMD Explorers, one of the few video game moments that made me cry. Once again, I don't own Pokémon. As I mentioned in the summary, this contains major spoilers for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers, so please DO NOT READ if you haven't played any of those games. But if you have played PMD Explorers or don't care for some reason, then go on ahead and enjoy!**

Oveno couldn't stop staring at Temporal Tower. More specifically, he was staring at the floating path to the entrance. It was the last place Oveno has and ever will see Thornatali. Oveno couldn't believe it. His well trusted human-turned treecko partner was gone, gone forever! Oveno kept replaying the scene of Thornatali slowly dissolving to light and saying goodbye in his head.

Once the Rainbow Stoneship landed, Oveno finally got himself to look away from Temporal Tower. Tears were still coming out of his closed cyndaquil eyes. As Oveno walked through the hidden land, he was suddenly reminded of Grovyle. That is when he remembered what Grovyle said when he was dragging Dusknoir into the dimensional hole.

"_Though the parting hurts, the rest is in your hands!"_

When Oveno thought about it, he remembered how he tried to comfort Thornatali about that right after. He told her that he understood the feeling of parting. The truth was, he was just saying that to try to make her feel better and didn't understand that feeling. But now he did and it was worse than he imagined.

Oveno had finally made it to where Lapras was waiting. This was the first time seeing a Pokémon since Thornatali disappeared. Oveno walked up the Lapras and collapsed on his shell.

"Oveno, you did it! You saved the flow of time!" said Lapras.

"You can go, Lapras," said Oveno, trying to minimize how much he talks.

"Shouldn't we wait for the others?" asked Lapras, looking confused.

"They're not coming," cried Oveno, tearing up again.

"Why?" asked Lapras.

"I don't even know how to explain," said Oveno.

So Lapras began the long journey to Treasure Town Beach. Oveno felt lonely riding Lapras all by himself. He wished Thornatali was with him. As Oveno peered at the water, he ran through his thoughts. Thornatali was his first friend that never made fun of him for being a 'coward'. Thornatali understood his fears and Oveno thinks that because of that, he was able to grow stronger. Oveno thought of all everything he wanted to do with Thornatali after this adventure. He wanted to explore more dungeons, rescue more Pokémon, find treasure, even take on more legendaries. Now that Thornatali was no longer here, Oveno couldn't do all of those things with her anymore. Oveno thought about why Thornatali had to go. She said that since they changed the future she was from, she would no longer exist and have to disappear. It was the laws of time and space.

_Why, laws of time and space?! Why did you have to do this to me?! Why did you have to take away my best friend?! Can't she live in a world of peace?! Why did it have to be this way?! Why is it that once this world is no longer on the verge of becoming paralyzed, Thornatali can't exist anymore?! She was a very bright sided Pokémon with good intentions! She should be able to live in the world she and I saved! But these stupid laws of time and space took her away! Why do these laws have to be so cruel?! _Oveno thought to himself as he started to cry again. These questions kept repeating in his head, even when Oveno tried to stop them.

"We're here!" Shouted Lapras, as he brushed up on the sand at the beach. Oveno was tired since he couldn't sleep at all during the trip. Oveno got off of Lapras and felt his feet sink in the sand. "Be sure to get some rest when you get back. You look exhausted," said Lapras.

"Thanks, Lapras," said Oveno, trying to let out a smile. Oveno started walking toward the guild when a huge clump of anxiety hit him. The guild had no idea about Thornatali's fate. They were expecting him to come back all happy with Thornatali and Grovyle. But instead, they were going to find him alone and gloomy. Of course, they were going to ask Oveno where Thornatali and Grovyle were, what else would they say when they don't see them with Oveno? Oveno did not know how he could tell them that Thornatali was gone forever. She had been a member of the guild for as long as Oveno had, they joined together just after they met on that beach. Thornatali had just turned into a treecko and had no memory of her life as a human. After Thornatali had helped Oveno get his relic fragment back from Team Skull, he asked her to join the guild and form an exploration team with him. She accepted as she had nothing else to do after losing her memory and trusted Oveno. That was how Team Timeteam started. It was a silly name but ended up fitting perfectly with how they saved the world.

Oveno tried to push away all of those bittersweet memories and put a smile on his face when he sees the guild, even though he was about to tell them some very tragic news. Oveno walked to the top of the hill where the guild was located. He felt hesitant to step on that grate and let everyone know he was back. It felt like that first day when he felt scared to step on the grate and ask to join the guild. Oveno took a deep breath and stepped on the grate.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected! Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" Oveno could hear Diglett say. Then he heard Diglett gasp loudly. He heard Diglett borrowing.

"Diglett, why are you burrowing again?! Could it perhaps be because.." Loudred shouted.

"It's Oveno! It's Oveno! They're back!" Diglett shouted, popping his head out of the ground. Oveno tried not to cry when Diglett said 'they'.

"Oh my gosh, the saviors of the world have returned!" shouted Sunflora, running out of the guild to greet Oveno. The bitter feeling inside of Oveno grew stronger when Sunflora pluralized the world 'savior'. Soon, the entire guild was flooding out toward Oveno, nearly knocking him over. Guild Master Wigglytuff walked through the crowd and squeezed Oveno in a huge hug. Oveno could barely breathe.

"Hey hey hey, where's Thornatali?" asked Corphish.

"Yeah, she deserves to be squeezed by the Guild Master as well!" shouted Loudred.

"By golly, how did I not notice she wasn't here?" questioned Bidoof.

"So Oveno, are you going to talk to us and tell us where she is or what?!" shouted Loudred.

"Oh my gosh, Loudred. Maybe he would be able to talk if the Guild Master put him down!" shouted Sunflora.

"Yeah Guild Master, you should put him down. He looks like he had enough of it," said Chimecho.

"Guild Master, let Oveno go!" Shouted Chatot. Upon hearing that, Wigglytuff dropped Oveno. Oveno caught his breath upon being let go.

"So are you going to tell us?!" yelled Loudred.

"Oh Loudred, pick up some patience! Let him take his time. Of course, he will tell us!" shouted Sunflora.

"Thornatali, she…" Oveno started, dreading to speak the next words. He looked around at the guild members who all seemed to be waiting for an answer. "She's gone," finished Oveno, looking at the ground and trying not to cry again.

"What?!" The entire guild shouted.

"Gone, what do you mean gone?! Oveno, you need to be more specific!" Shouted Loudred.

"Loudred, if you don't shut up, I will Razor Leaf you!" Yelled Sunflora.

"Not before I hit you with Hyper Voice!" Shouted Loudred, seeming to ready his moves.

"Loudred! Sunflora! This is not the time to be arguing!" shouted Chatot, flying between Sunflora and Loudred. "So Oveno, what happened?"

Oveno explained to them what happened at the Hidden Land and Temporal Tower and how Thornatali had to disappear from existence due to the laws of time and space. Eventually, Oveno couldn't handle talking about it anymore and collapsed in tears.

"So, Thornatali is gone forever?!" asked Bidoof, getting teary.

"Yeah," cried Oveno, sadly nodding.

"Oh my gosh, why?!" shouted Sunflora.

Soon, almost all of the guild members were tearing up. Even those that rarely cried shed at least one tear. Who knows how long the guild members were outside of the guild before they finally agreed to go back in. For once, even Bidoof wasn't hungry for dinner.

The next day, Oveno woke up. He needed to eat a sleep seed to help him fall asleep, even after that sleepless night on Lapras. This morning felt different because he was not woken up by Loudred's classic wake up call. He woke up on his own.

"Good morning, Thornatali," Oveno said. Then he remembered that Thornatali wasn't there anymore. Oveno stared at Thornatali's empty bed. It seemed that the guild had prepared it to be nice and neat for Oveno and Thornatali's return. They even prepared a third one for Grovyle. When Oveno thought about it, it had been a long time since he slept in a room alone.

It took a long time before Oveno finally managed to get himself up. He slowly walked out of his room. When he was in the hallway, he saw Chatot scolding Loudred. Chatot's usually neat feathers were all scuffed up. Oveno could tell that Chatot hadn't slept that night.

"Loudred, why didn't you wake Oveno up?!" Shouted Chatot, sounding like he was in a grouchy mood.

"I can't, I don't want to bother him. He's going through so much right now. Plus, I feel bad for yelling at him yesterday," argued Loudred. Then, Wigglytuff walked out of his room.

"Chatot, Loudred is right. We shouldn't bother Oveno with that wake-up call. He needs rest," said Wigglytuff. Wigglytuff also appeared to have a sleepless night, which was surprising considering how much he loves sleeping.

"I'm sorry. Loudred, don't worry about it. You can just go to your duty now," sighed Chatot. Loudred went to his guild job. "So, couldn't sleep either Guild Master?" Asked Chatot.

"Yeah," sighed Wigglytuff.

"I wonder if any of our guild members got any sleep. Hopefully, they won't all be too tired," said Chatot.

"Yeah. I know that we should all be happy that our world is saved, but because we lost Thornatali, it's so bittersweet. I hope Oveno will be okay," sighed Wigglytuff.

"I'll go check on him right now. Don't worry, I won't wake him if he somehow is asleep," said Chatot.

"I'm awake," said Oveno, as Chatot was about to fly to his room.

"Oh Oveno, did you get any sleep last night?" Asked Chatot.

"Yeah, with the help of a sleep seed though," sighed Oveno.

"Oh. So Oveno, the Guild Master and I just had a discussion and we agreed that you could have today off. You have just been on a long adventure to save our world and you just lost your best friend. You really should rest," said Chatot.

"Oh, okay," said Oveno. Oveno went back into his room to rest. As he was laying on the bed and digging through his thoughts, he remembered one of the last things Thornatali had said to him.

'_Tell everyone what happened. So nothing like this ever happens again,' _

Oveno remembered it. Thornatali was giving him her last request. She wanted Oveno to tell the world their story. About how the planet almost became paralyzed and how she and Oveno stopped that from happening. Thornatali wanted to ensure world peace.

Oveno finally decided that he was going to start fulfilling Thornatali's last wish. Oveno got up from his bed and walked out of his room.

"Hey Chatot, is it okay if I go to Treasure Town? I'm not going into any dungeons," asked Oveno.

"As long as you don't push yourself too hard," answered Chatot.

"Thanks," said Oveno. Oveno climbed up the guild latter and walked out of the guild toward Treasure Town. When he got to Treasure Town, a whole bunch of Pokémon started greeting him. A bunch of Pokémon started asking Oveno about how he saved the world. Oveno told them about how he was about to give a speech to Treasure Town. Soon, Pokémon started gathering around the Treasure Town square to hear Oveno tell his story.

"Yo yo yo, Oveno, you really saved us!" A Pokémon said, right before Oveno was about to give his speech. Oveno turned and saw it was that vigoroth that always hung around Treasure Town.

"Yeah, I'm about to tell everyone the whole story," said Oveno.

"Where's Thornatali? I would think that she would be here too," asked Vigoroth.

"She's…" started Oveno. "I will explain what happened to her in this speech," answered Oveno.

"Yo, what's wrong? You look sad. I don't like seeing Pokémon like you sad, it makes me sad as well," said Vigoroth.

"You'll see," sighed Oveno. Oveno walked up to the center and grabbed all of the Pokémon's attention.

"Hello everyone, I am here to tell you about how Thornatali and I stopped the planet paralysis," said Oveno.

"I am excited to hear about this. I can't believe our world saviors are those same Pokémon that saved my pearl. I feel so special now!" shouted Spoink, bouncing in excitement.

"Also, Thornatali is not here today because.., well, you'll find out why as I tell you this," said Oveno.

Oveno began to tell the story. He started from how he found out the truth about the cause of the planet's paralysis when he was in the future. He went through from how he and Thornatali escaped from the future to the search for the hidden land, to the expedition in Brine Cave, to the arrival of the Hidden Land, to the ambush by Dusknoir and Grovyle's sacrifice, to climbing Temporal Tower, to the Battle against Primal Dialga. After he finished telling that part, Oveno knew what was coming next. He now had to tell everyone why Thornatali wasn't here. Oveno took a deep breath.

"So when we left Temporal Tower, I thought everything was fine," started Oveno, his mood suddenly changing to more gloomy.

"What's wrong, Oveno? Did something really bad happen after you left?" asked a Pokémon.

"Well yeah, I guess so," sighed Oveno.

"Please tell me our world is still saved," shouted a Pokémon.

"It is! It's just… Thornatali," sighed Oveno.

"What happened?" A Pokémon shouted.

"So when we were walking out, I noticed that Thornatali was falling way behind. I thought it was just exhaustion from battling Dialga. But then, she called out my name and I saw her surrounded by small orbs of yellow light. I asked her what was going on and she said that it was time for her to say goodbye. She told me that she can no longer exist in this world because she is from a future that no longer exists due to our world-saving actions," explained Oveno, feeling the tears pushing against his eyes.

"What?!" Every single Pokémon that heard that shouted.

"She said her final goodbyes to me before disappearing into the light," said Oveno, as a tear managed to escape his eye.

"I'm so sorry, Oveno! That must have been hard for you to process," said a Pokémon.

"It was," said Oveno. "I just couldn't believe that after all of that, she had to disappear. She didn't deserve this! She should be able to live in the world she helped save," cried Oveno. "But, she did make one final request which I am fulfilling right now," said Oveno, getting slightly more positive.

"What was it?" A Pokémon asked.

"She requested me to share this story with all of you guys. So it can spread around the whole world. She hopes it can stop this from ever happening again. So I would like to wrap up today's speech by encouraging all of you to tell this story to everyone you can. Please also encourage them to help spread the story. Thank you all so much for listening!" Oveno concluded. The Pokémon all nodded in agreement. At that moment, Oveno could feel Thornatali's spirit watching him.

As the months passed, Oveno got back to work. He soon started going into dungeons again to help many clients in need. He often went with other Pokémon. While none of them were the same as Thornatali, Oveno still liked going into dungeons with them.

One evening, Oveno decided to take a stroll to the beach. As he started heading out there, he walked by Bidoof.

"Howdy Oveno, where are you going?" asked Bidoof.

"Hey Bidoof, the dungeon I went in today was extra difficult, so I figured I would go chill out on the beach for a bit," answered Oveno.

"Okay, but be sure to be back for dinner," said Bidoof.

"I will," said Oveno.

Oveno walked out to the beach and saw that the krabby were blowing bubbles out into the water. It was one of Oveno's favorite sights. As Oveno watched, he realized that it's been so long since he has seen that sight. Oveno decided to try to recall when he last saw that beautiful sight. When he found his most recent memory of watching the krabby blow bubbles on the beach, he couldn't believe how long ago it was. It was all the way back to when he first met Thornatali. Oveno hadn't even been thinking about Thornatali much lately, but now, he was recalling so many memories he had with her.

Oveno walked over to the rock that he found her by all those months ago. His memories went from him finding Thornatali on the beach to when they were saving the world together and everything that happened in between that. He remembered when Thornatali said yes when he asked her to form an exploration team with him. He remembered when they saved little Azurill together after Thornatali had a vision of Drowzee trying to kidnap him. He remembered jumping through the waterfall during their first exploration because Thornatali knew that there would be a cave behind it to explore. If Thornatali hadn't been there, Oveno wouldn't have even thought of jumping through a waterfall like that. Especially because he's a fire type. Oveno remembered his dream to solve the mystery of the Relic Fragment he randomly found. He remembered fighting the groudon illusion with Thornatali when on the Fogbound Lake expedition. Neither he nor Thornatali realized it was an illusion until after they defeated it. Oveno remembered the majestic sight at Fogbound Lake. The volbeat and illumise flying around and the amazing geyser shooting up like magic. He also remembered when Thornatali was able to solve the puzzles behind the Quicksand Pit and the Crystal Cave. Then Oveno remembered the dark times of when he, Thornatali, and Grovyle were nearly slashed to death by the sableye like an ancient torture story. And yet, they managed to escape. He remembered when Thornatali comforted him during those dark and scary times. When Oveno found out that Dusknoir was evil after he thought he could trust him. When he found out that Grovyle was trying to save the world rather than paralyze it. He remembered making it back to the past. Oveno remembered finding the hidden land and riding across the Sea of Time. Oveno remembered when Dusknoir and the sableye nearly captured the trio and when Grovyle pulled Dusknoir into the portal with him. Then he remembered climbing Temporal Tower and fighting Dialga.

But after Oveno remembered all of those times, he was then again reminded that Thornatali was no longer there. Oveno suddenly found himself bursting into tears.

"Oveno, there you are! When you didn't show up for dinner, the guild got worried about you," said Bidoof, running up to Oveno.

"Bidoof! B-Bidoof! Waaaah!" cried Oveno, crying into Bidoof's fur.

"Wah-wah? Oveno, what's the matter?" asked Bidoof.

Dialga was observing the world from Temporal Tower as he was repairing the damage it had taken during the crisis. He noticed Oveno crying on the beach because he missed Thornatali. Dialga remembered watching Thornatali say her final goodbye to Oveno. That was when Dialga decided that he was finally going to face asking Arceus a favor, to bring Thornatali back. He kind of felt bad for not doing it earlier but knew that it was never too late.

"OVENO... WHEN YOU LEFT HERE... WHEN YOU BID FAREWELL TO THIS PLACE FROM THE RAINBOW STONESHIP… YOUR SORROW… I FELT IT'S INTENSITY EVEN HERE. AND IF THAT IS HOW YOU FEEL EVEN NOW… AND IF THORNATALI WERE TO SHARE THOSE FEELINGS… I WILL GRANT YOUR WISH. THIS WORLD NEEDS YOU BOTH. THAT IS WHY… I WILL TRUST YOU WITH A GIFT. I LEAVE TO YOU… THE FUTURE! THIS IS MY THANKS! PLEASE ACCEPT IT!" said Dialga. Dialga let out a roar from the top of the tower.

"Huh, I thought I heard something," said Bidoof, thinking he heard a faraway voice. Suddenly a light appeared behind Oveno. "What is that?!"

The yellow light formed into the shape of a treecko. Then, Thornatali came out of the light as it faded away. Bidoof immediately recognized that treecko as Thornatali.

"Oh my Arceus! Oveno, look behind you!" shouted Bidoof in excitement and disbelief.

"What?" moaned Oveno, confused as to what Bidoof was shouting about. He slowly turned around and saw the partner he thought was long gone.

"Thornatali?!" Shouted Oveno, slowly walking toward her.

"Oveno!" Shouted Thornatali, running toward him. Thornatali and Oveno raced toward each other, nearly colliding into each other.

"I can't believe it!" Shouted Oveno, hugging Thornatali and shedding tears.

"Me neither!" shouted Thornatali, wrapping her arms around Oveno.

"I don't even know what to say, this is amazing!" shouted Bidoof, sniffling from tears. At this point, Oveno and Thornatali were in so much disbelief and joy that they couldn't even talk anymore. "I can't even imagine how the guild is going to react to this!" shouted Bidoof. Oveno and Thornatali both looked at Bidoof realizing this.

"Hey Oveno, I'm curious. How long was I gone for?" asked Thornatali.

"A few months," answered Oveno.

"Oh wow, I just can't believe I'm back!" shouted Thornatali.

"You don't even know what I'm feeling right now! I thought you were gone forever!" shouted Oveno, crying almost every tear his eyes have been storing.

"I'd hate to interrupt this moment, but we need to get going back to this guild. We are super late for dinner," said Bidoof.

"Okay then. Thornatali, let's see how the guild will react to you coming back!" shouted Oveno.

Bidoof raced into the guild while Thornatali and Oveno walked right next to each other behind him. Thornatali stopped a couple of times to look at the guild that she never thought she would see again.

"Everyone, you will never believe this!" Bidoof cheerfully shouted, running in the dining hall. He didn't realize how much momentum he was putting into his run. He was going so fast, that he had to jump on the table to avoid crashing into it, knocking over a few plates in the process.

"BIDOOF!" Chatot shouted in his angry voice to the top of his lungs.

"Seriously Bidoof?! You had to hold us up forever and then come running in to ruin our dinners?! What the heck is wrong with you?!" shouted Loudred, so loud that everyone else had to cover their ears.

"We were starving and now our long-awaited dinner is on the floor! Why Bidoof?!" complained Dugtrio.

"Oh my gosh, Bidoof! Look what you did! Where is all of this energy coming from?!" shouted Sunflora.

"And where's Oveno?! You were supposed to find him! That's what we were waiting for!" shouted Loudred.

"Sorry, I guess I got a little too energized. But something amazing happened at the beach! You won't believe it!" shouted Bidoof, trying to calm down.

"What? Did a girl you like ask you out? Well, guess what, we don't care!" Shouted Loudred.

"Oh my gosh, Loudred! Do you really need to suggest that?!" Shouted Sunflora.

"Golly, of course not! And once you find out why I am super happy, of course, you will care!" shouted Bidoof.

"Bidoof, you do know that you won't be getting dinner tonight after what you did! You were lucky that you didn't knock over any of the Guild Master's perfect apples because that would have been a nightmare!" shouted Chatot.

"You know what, that's okay with me because I am too happy to even feel hunger right now!" shouted Bidoof, trying to collect himself as he finally got off the table.

"Hey hey hey! That's a surprise! Bidoof is almost always hungry," said Corphish.

"So, what is it?" asked Chimecho.

"Well, I don't even know how to explain! Oveno, are you coming?" Bidoof said as he walked over to the doorway.

"So you did find Oveno?! You could have told us that earlier!" shouted Loudred.

"I'm here, sorry we took so long," said Oveno, walking into the dining room. Everyone in the room could instantly tell by Oveno's eyes that he was crying.

"Oveno, why did you have to hold us up for so long?! We were starving! And please explain why Bidoof is so hyped right now!" shouted Loudred.

"Everyone, you will never believe this!" shouted Oveno.

"Just tell us what happened already. I'm tired of your stupid intros!" Shouted Loudred, clearly impatient. "Let me guess, Thornatali somehow came back!"

"Oh my gosh Loudred, don't bring that up now! You probably just ruined Oveno's happiness! I hope you like razor leaves!" shouted Sunflora, firing a razor leaf attack on Loudred.

"Actually, Loudred is correct!" Oveno exclaimed happily.

"WAIT, WHAAAAAAT?!" Everyone in the room shouted, some even falling out of their seats.

"Yeah! I couldn't believe it either! Don't ask me how it happened! Thornatali, you can come in right now!" shouted Oveno, feeling like crying tears of joy again. Thornatali walked into the dining hall, making everyone feel like fainting from disbelief.

"Hello, I guess it's been a while," Thornatali said, waving at the guild members and walking in.

"Oh my gosh Thornatali, is that really you?!" shouted Sunflora in disbelief, completely forgetting about how she just Razor Leafed Loudred.

"Sunflora, you now owe me for this, but what?! That was just a wild guess! How is this even possible?!" shouted Loudred, as he was brushing the sharp leaves off of him. The guild ran toward Thornatali and gathered around her in disbelief. Even the hungriest of the guild members forgot about dinner that night.

When everything finally settled down, Oveno and Thornatali went into their room. Thornatali was exhausted and fell asleep quicker than a Pokémon who has eaten a sleep seed. Oveno wasn't as sleepy, so he got up and looked at the window.

"Thank you," Oveno said, starring at the stary sky.

**A/N: Thanks for reading!**


End file.
